Increasing Student and Educator Participation in Outdoor Classroom Spaces Through Teacher Education and Community Connection

Place based outdoor integrated education in the general elementary setting aims to connect student learning in subjects such as reading and math to first hand schoolyard experiences. This educational practice is anchored in a wealth of research which enumerates the benefits. Yet implementation is not commonly supported within general education teacher professional development. This capstone aims to answer the question How can urban elementary educators take advantage of schoolyard resources for integrated place based learning experiences? The final product is a professional development sequence that introduces general education classroom teachers to the joys and benefits of outdoor integration through circle conversations, place based schoolyard learning experiences, and relevant research in support of these practices. Teacher beliefs are examined through circle conversions designed to build community and capacity. Connections to equity and culturally responsive teaching are made through evidence based practices and self reflective discussion, and the deficit model lens which inhibits implementation is challenged

Development of a Cobinamide-Based Optical Sensor for Hydrogen Cyanide and Hydrogen Sulfide

In an occupational or military environment, a personal air-purifying respirator must be provided when breathing-air is contaminated by harmful dust, fumes, gases, aerosols, or vapors. Too often, a respirator user does not have enough information to know when to change his/her cartridge/canister and thus is potentially exposed to toxic gases. Currently, there is no definitive way to determine when respirators\u27 carbon beds have begun to fail. When an end-of-service-life indicator (ESLI) is incorporated into the carbon bed, it informs one, in real-time, when imminent breakthrough is occurring and to replace the cartridge/canister. ESLIs are a more reliable and safer way to determine respirator end-of-service-life. To date, there are no commercially available active ESLIs for inorganic gases.;The objective of this research is to develop an inexpensive, optical sensor for the detection of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and hydrogen sulfide (H 2S) gas, which can be used to determine the end-of-service-life of a respirator carbon bed. The sensor relies on diffuse reflectance from a paper substrate fixed with cobinamide, a Vitamin B12 derivative. Cobinamide undergoes a metal-ligand binding interaction with HCN, whereas both a binding and reduction reaction may occur with exposure to H2S. Characteristic and different spectral shifts rapidly occurred after exposure to HCN and H 2S, implying a dual ESLI could be developed to simultaneously detect both gases. Upon increasing the relative humidity from 25 to 85%, the sensitivity was found to increase 7x for cobinamide-immobilized cellulose fiber filter paper and 50x for glass fiber filter paper upon exposure to 5.0 parts-per-million (ppm) HCN---the NIOSH recommended exposure limit for HCN. The cobinamide-immobilized paper sensor successfully detected low concentrations of HCN and H2S upon imminent breakthrough of respirator canisters and cartridges (respectively). The breakthrough curves of the cobinamide paper sensor correlated well with commercial electrochemical detectors, implying that cobinamide may be used to detect both gases at a certain location in the respirator carbon bed and inform the user to replace his or her cartridge/canister.;Additionally, a low-power, inexpensive 3-color (RGB) sensor was prototyped to actively monitor the total change in color of the cobinamide complex on paper upon HCN exposure. The photodiodes detected, in real-time, a rapid change in the red, green, and blue values of the cobinamide compound upon exposure to HCN at various concentrations and relative humidity levels. Total change in color from initial cobinamide on paper increased as a function of HCN concentration, where faster reaction kinetics were observed at higher relative humidity. Response times at all relative humidity levels were within 20 seconds for 5.0 ppm HCN exposure. The color sensor offers an economical and more quantitative approach to determining color change compared to current, subjective end-of-service-life indicators

In-Situ NDE of Navy Sonar Domes Via X-Ray Backscatter Tomography

X-ray backscatter tomography (XBT) is a relatively new NDE technology which is quantitative in its ability to detect a flaw location in three dimensions. The volume to be inspected is interrogated by a collimated x-ray beam and one or more collimated detectors to measure the Compton scatter signal produced by each volume element. XBT is particularly useful where access is available only to one side of the object. Although a number of novel backscatter inspection techniques have been demonstrated [1–4], there is a notable dearth of real applications. This can be attributed to both the development of other, lower cost, one-sided methods and the lack, until recently, of a commercial XBT scanner. In applications where the low cost alternatives are inferior or unfeasible and failure costs are high, XBT affords a solution

Evidence for prolonged Paleozoic metamorphism in the Eastern Blue Ridge from U-Pb Geochronology

Direct evidence for the timing of Paleozoic metamorphism is limited in reliability and extent in the southern Appalachians compared to the northern Appalachians. I employed U-Pb geochronology to date amphibolite in the Eastern Blue Ridge of North Carolina to better understand the age of southern Appalachian orogenesis. I collected samples from the Ashe Metamorphic Suite and dated zircon and titanite using LA-ICPMS and ID-TIMS. I found that zircon and titanite ages span approximately 130 million years from the Middle Ordovician through Mississippian. The data indicate that the Eastern Blue Ridge was subjected to prolonged tectonothermal heating throughout much of the Paleozoic, rather than discrete orogenic events punctuated by intervening periods of cooling.Master of Scienc

Bone Marrow Acid Phosphatase in the Evaluation of Patients with Carcinoma of the Prostate

Based on experience with 30 men having clinical stage A and B adenocarcinoma of the prostate, the authors conclude that elevation of bone marrow acid phosphatase (BMAP) is a sensitive indicator of the disease state. BMAP revealed periprostatic or nodal Involvement when osseous metastases seemed absent. BMAP is considered essential in the evaluation of all patients with prostatic carcinoma. Patients who have false negative BMAP (and are not candidates for radical prostatectomy), should undergo lymphangiography and bone scan before radiation therapy or hormonal treatment is planned

A Practical Algorithm for Reconstruction From X-Ray Backscatter Data

Although numerous applications of x-ray backscatter tomography (XBT) have been demonstrated, only a few have been fully developed to practical implementation [1–5]. In some applications the images produced by direct data acquisition and display methods are plagued with superposition artifacts that can interfere with interpretation [6]. Non-homogeneous materials such as composites or layered structures are particularly susceptible. Reconstruction methods have been proposed to correct the datum from each volume element (voxel) by exploiting the information in data from overlying voxels [7]. Practical inspection systems, however, present a more challenging problem than the monoenergetic highly collimated laboratory demonstration systems. In particular, the use of a bremmstrahlung source and a fan beam, or slit collimated, detector geometry, deprives us of knowledge of the backscattered photon energies and paths that are needed for a true reconstruction. In this paper, we present our work towards a reconstruction using data from a commercial XBT system (Philips ComScan) and a real composite inspection application. Our approach uses pre-processing to remove system artifacts, a priori information about the material, and an iterative method to determine the composition of each voxel.</p

Progressive stridor: extraintestinal airway manifestations in a pediatric patient with inflammatory bowel disease.

Airway manifestations of inflammatory bowel disease are rare in pediatrics. This case describes a nine-year-old female with ulcerative colitis (UC) with progressive stridor and dyspnea for two months. Severe upper airway obstruction was noted on spirometry. CatScan (CT) of the neck and chest revealed tracheal narrowing with circumferential, heterogeneous soft tissue thickening, and posterior wall nodularity. Bronchoscopy visualized the granulation tissue of the large airways and an ulcerative lesion to the right mainstem. Consultation and evaluation by gastroenterology, oncology, and rheumatology determined a diagnosis of extraintestinal manifestations of UC. Systemic steroids led to symptom resolution and improvement in lung function

Mitochondrial Epigenetic Changes Link to Increased Diabetes Risk and Early-Stage Prediabetes Indicator

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is characterized by mitochondrial derangement and oxidative stress. With no known cure for T2D, it is critical to identify mitochondrial biomarkers for early diagnosis of prediabetes and disease prevention. Here we examined 87 participants on the diagnosis power of fasting glucose (FG) and hemoglobin A1c levels and investigated their interactions with mitochondrial DNA methylation. FG and A1c led to discordant diagnostic results irrespective of increased body mass index (BMI), underscoring the need of new biomarkers for prediabetes diagnosis. Mitochondrial DNA methylation levels were not correlated with late-stage (impaired FG or A1c) but significantly with early-stage (impaired insulin sensitivity) events. Quartiles of BMI suggested that mitochondrial DNA methylation increased drastically from Q1 (20 < BMI < 24.9, lean) to Q2 (30 < BMI < 34.9, obese), but marginally from Q2 to Q3 (35 < BMI < 39.9, severely obese) and from Q3 to Q4 (BMI > 40, morbidly obese). A significant change was also observed from Q1 to Q2 in HOMA insulin sensitivity but not in A1c or FG. Thus, mitochondrial epigenetic changes link to increased diabetes risk and the indicator of early-stage prediabetes. Further larger-scale studies to examine the potential of mitochondrial epigenetic marker in prediabetes diagnosis will be of critical importance for T2D prevention

Characterization of X-Ray Backscatter Tomography System Performance

X-ray backscatter tomography (XBT), based on the detection of Compton scattering, has been applied to a variety of NDE problems with varying success. Its strength is its applicability with access to only one side of an object. The method is limited, however, to the detection of features near the surface of relatively light materials. When used to inspect structured or dense materials, XBT is plagued by superposition artifacts and limited by attenuation and noise. We often investigate the feasibility of using XBT for particular applications by trial and error, acquiring data from material specimens using varying inspection parameters

Building Bridges to Enhance Degree and Career Opportunities

External pressures on higher education are challenging universities to focus on preparing graduates with more broadly designed curricula that contain translatable skills and include interdisciplinary knowledge. In this presentation, the process of identifying and creating new academic programs based on unique student goals and contemporary employment needs will be discussed